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I've been calling my part-Inuit, Canada-obsessed boyfriend "Nantook" after this Jim Carrey stand-up bit about Canada.
I've scoured the net for it, but I can't seem to find it and I'm thinking Carrey just made it up. It looks and sounds an awful lot like Nanook, which I know means "polar bear." I've tried all sorts of different spellings, such as "Nantuck" and "Nantuk," but got nothing of interest.
I was just wondering if this is real or a product of Jim Carrey's twisted mind (or possibly he misspoke)?
If it's real, what does it mean? Is it just a variation of Nanook?
I've scoured the net for it, but I can't seem to find it and I'm thinking Carrey just made it up. It looks and sounds an awful lot like Nanook, which I know means "polar bear." I've tried all sorts of different spellings, such as "Nantuck" and "Nantuk," but got nothing of interest.
I was just wondering if this is real or a product of Jim Carrey's twisted mind (or possibly he misspoke)?
If it's real, what does it mean? Is it just a variation of Nanook?
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Replies
This will probably be buried in time, its Feb 2021.
Nantook was a documentary from the 1920s about a "backwards" eskimo man who was wholly ignorant of civilization to the point he bit into a phonograph record when it was presented to him. It created a small sensation when made.
Later on it is known to have been a doctored documentary with "Nantook" being a fairly regular person if just living in the polar north.
The name may have been imagined or a native eskimo name.
Nantook was a documentary from the 1920s about a "backwards" eskimo man who was wholly ignorant of civilization to the point he bit into a phonograph record when it was presented to him. It created a small sensation when made.
Later on it is known to have been a doctored documentary with "Nantook" being a fairly regular person if just living in the polar north.
The name may have been imagined or a native eskimo name.
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I think you mean Nanook of the North (1922)
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12 years later, I'm looking for the same information
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Did you try to see if it is related to Algonquin Nantucket? Just a wild guess.
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There is a place near Shishmaref in Western Alaska called West Nantuq, but I don't know what the word means (and of course it's not Canada). Both nan and tuq are common Inupiaq word elements, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's also a word in Canadian Inupiaq. The q is pronounced like a k, but in the back of the throat, like a hard glottal stop. It doesn't exist as an English phoneme.
All that said, my guess is that Jim Carrey simply mispronounced (possibly on purpose) Nanook (nanuq), which is one of the most commonly known Inupiaq words that's entered into English. Nanook of the North is a 1922 film by Robert Flaherty, and Nanook is the main character's name...it would make sense for Carrey to parody that.
All that said, my guess is that Jim Carrey simply mispronounced (possibly on purpose) Nanook (nanuq), which is one of the most commonly known Inupiaq words that's entered into English. Nanook of the North is a 1922 film by Robert Flaherty, and Nanook is the main character's name...it would make sense for Carrey to parody that.
This message was edited 11/24/2007, 9:55 AM
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You are correct. I live here in Alaska and it can be spelled both Nanuq (Inuit) and Nanoq (Kalaallisut). It means "polar bear" as was stated.
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